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▼ pects Strong to be a major impact player as he matures in the next few years. "I told you watching his film that he was as good as I have seen on film at what he does," Graham told reporters after the Wisconsin game. "He still is working on understanding how to do some things. He is only going to get better every week." Arizona State hopes to rely on him less while he climbs that learning curve during the middle of the season. Playing against bulky defenses built to clog up the line of scrimmage has forced Graham and Kelly to the air more often that they would like. It also led them to prepare in a new way on defense this offseason. To beat Stanford and Wisconsin, the Sun Devils knew they would have to improve drastically in stopping the run. In 2012, Arizona State allowed 182.9 rushing yards per game, 85th among Football Bowl Subdivision schools. An explosive front seven added some noticeable bulk during the offseason to try to better hold its ground. Click here to listen to BGI's arizona state's preview podcast All-American defensive tackle Will Sutton jumped from 285 to 305 pounds to start the season. He is stronger, but he has only one sack after finishing third in the nation with 13 a year ago. The chatter surrounding Sutton's extra weight in Tempe, Ariz., is similar to questions about Notre Dame's 322-pound defensive end Stephon Tuitt, another preseason All-America pick who hasn't posted big numbers in September. "The jury is still out on [Sutton]," Haller said. "He hasn't been as active in the run game as he was last year. That's an indication that he might be slowing down a little bit, but Graham has been pretty adamant that he's stronger and he's faster than he was last year." Some of Sutton's slow start could also ATTENTION IRISH FANS Packages are available for all Notre Dame home games during the 2013 season 2013 HOME GAMES Aug. 31 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 19 Nov. 2 Nov. 23 Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Will Sutton was off to a slow start in 2013, a year after he racked up 23.5 tackles for loss (ranked second nationally) and 13.0 sacks (third in country) en route to Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors. photo courtesy arizona state be attributed to facing double teams against some of the country's best offensive lines. He'll likely attract the same kind of attention from Notre Dame in the trenches. Large venues and national television starts are commonplace this year for the Irish, who will play at least five games in primetime this season and two in NFL stadiums. Arizona State isn't as familiar with that scene, and has had trouble adjusting. Last year's marquee non-conference matchup for Arizona State came against SEC newcomer Missouri on the road. The Sun Devils fell behind by double digits in the first half of a winnable game and weren't able to recover. They ended up losing 24‑20. "The big thing with the Notre Dame game is that ASU does not perform well when the lights are on against a big-time opponent," Haller said. "They always dig themselves into a hole." Graham has a history of giving Brian Kelly fits with less-talented teams. This year he has a lot of weapons that can hurt the Irish if they prove they can finish on the big stage. ✦ Temple Michigan State Oklahoma USC Navy B.Y.U ALL HOME GAME PACKAGES INCLUDE *Game Tickets end zone to the 40 yard line. *Two Nights Hotel *Great Customer Service Please visit www.diamondtravel.com for complete details 1.602.870.9197 DIAMOND TRAVEL 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS ✦ Page 2